October 8
1900s-1940s *1908 - The Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant when Mordecai Brown beat Christy Mathewson 4–2 in the playoff of the disputed game on September 23 when Fred Merkle failed to touch second base. *1915 - The Philadelphia Phillies won their first-ever World Series game behind Grover Cleveland Alexander, 3–1. Boston Red Sox rookie Babe Ruth grounder out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the opener. Ruth will sit out the rest of the Series. *1919 - Ed Cicotte pitched Game Seven of the World Series, and the Chicago White Sox played like they mean it. Shoeless Jackson and Happy Felsch drove in two runs each for a 4–1 win to cut the Cincinnati Reds lead to four games to three in the best-of-nine Series. *1924 - New York Giants rookie third baseman Fred Lindstrom hit 4-for-5 with two RBI against pitcher Walter Johnson. New York pitcher Jack Bentley helped himself with a two-run home run earning the 6-2 win. The Giants hold a 3-2 World Series edge heading back to Washington. *1927 - In Game Four of the World Series, facing elimination at Yankee Stadium, the Pirates were are tied with the Yankees 3–3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Reliever Johnny Miljus fanned Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel with the bases loaded, but a two-strike wild pitch to Tony Lazzeri allowed Earle Combs to score the winning run for the Yankees and capture the World Series. *1929 - Howard Ehmke, a surprise starter for the Philadelphia Athletics, struck out 13 Chicago Cubs to win the opening game of the World Series 3–1. *1930 - George Earnshaw finished off the Cardinals 7–1 to win the World Series for the Philadelphia Athletics. Earnshaw was clearly the pitching star of the Series with two victories and a 0.72 ERA. * 1940 - With only one day off, Bobo Newsom came back for the Tigers and nearly had enough to win Game Seven of the World Series. Cincinnati Reds Paul Derringer gave up seven hits in the first six innings but set the Tigers down in order in the final three frames for the 2–1 win, giving the Reds the Series. * 1945 - Stan Hack's double made a tricky bounce over left fielder Hank Greenberg's shoulder with two outs in the 12th inning to score runner Bill Schuster and gave the Chicago Cubs an 8–7 win in Game Six to even the World Series with Detroit. 1950s-1990s *1956 - Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the only perfect game in World Series history for a 2–0 triumph over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sal Maglie, the opposing pitcher, gave up five hits. *1961 - New York Yankees Whitey Ford set a World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings by extending his streak to 32 innings in a 7–0 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds in Game Four. *1973 - Rusty Staub's two home runs powered the New York Mets to a 9–2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. Pete Rose of the Reds and Bud Harrelson of the Mets scuffled at second base in the fifth inning after Rose slid hard into the base. *1986 - Mike Scott equaled a playoff record with 14 strikeouts and threw a five-hitter as the Houston Astros defeated the New York Mets, 1–0, in the first game of the NLCS. Glenn Davis opened the second inning with a home run off Dwight Gooden. *1989 - The Oakland Athletics beat Toronto 4–3 in Game Five of their AL division series to advance to the World Series for the second straight year. Rickey Henderson, who hit .400 with eight stolen bases, was named Series MVP. *1995 - In the bottom of the 11th inning, Edgar Martinez drove home the tying and winning runs with a double to left field to rally the Seattle Mariners to a 6-5 win and the AL division series over the Yankees. Martinez batted .571 with 10 RBI in the best-of-five series. Ken Griffey, Jr., who beat the relay throw home to score the winning run, belted five home runs in the series. 2000s *2000 - Bobby J. Jones pitched the sixth complete game one-hitter in postseason history as the New York Mets eliminated the San Francisco Giants with a 4–0 win in Game Four of their NL division series. It was the first one-hit shutout in the postseason since Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox beat St. Louis in the 1967 World Series. Births *1887 - Donie Bush, player and manager (d. 1972) *1887 - Doc Crandall, pitcher (d. 1951) *1910 - Wally Moses, All-Star outfielder (d. 1990) *1917 - Danny Murtaugh, manager (d. 1976) *1946 - Paul Splittorff, pitcher *1949 - Enos Cabell, infielder *1959 - Mike Morgan, All-Star pitcher *1970 - Sandy Martínez, catcher *1970 - Olmedo Saenz, infielder Deaths *1948 - Al Orth, pitcher (b. 1872) *1978 - Jim Gilliam, All-Star infielder (b. 1928)